BILL NUMBER: AB 1570	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   916
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 10, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 2, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 14, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Villaraigosa and Romero

                        FEBRUARY 26, 1999

   An act to amend Section 66903 of the Education Code, relating to
postsecondary education, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1570, Villaraigosa.  Postsecondary education:  California
Postsecondary Education Commission.
   Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets
forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's
public and independent segments of higher education, and their
respective institutions of higher education.  Among other things, the
act establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission
for, among other purposes, the collection of data pertinent to the
planning and coordination of the higher education system of the
state.  The act also requires the commission to develop a
comprehensive data base to ensure the comparability of data from
diverse sources.
   This bill would require the California Postsecondary Education
Commission, in developing this comprehensive data base, to ensure
that the data base supports longitudinal studies of individual
students, provides the interactive use of data, and provides each of
the educational segments access to the data, as specified.
   The bill would appropriate $424,000 from the General Fund to the
commission for purposes of the development and maintenance of a
comprehensive data base, as set forth in the bill.
   Appropriation:  yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The Governor has called for increased accountability along the
entire educational continuum, starting with kindergarten and
continuing through the university level.
   (b) The demand for postsecondary education in California is
expected to increase by up to 500,000 students over the next 10
years.
   (c) Both the numbers of high school graduates and the percentage
of those graduates who prepare for college are expected to increase.

   (d) The state currently does not have the capability to carry out
longitudinal monitoring or analysis of the enrollment patterns of
individual students as they progress through their postsecondary
education.
   (e) A student information system that ensures longitudinal
analysis would provide for increased accountability by providing more
accurate, timely, and comprehensive data on college and university
student performance in the areas of transfer, degree completion, and
retention.
   (f) The report, Diversity in Higher Education, issued by the
Center for California Studies in November 1998, recommends that a
systematic collection and analysis of longitudinal data on student
enrollment and attendance be undertaken in order to assess student
diversity at California's public institutions of higher education.
  SEC. 2.  Section 66903 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   66903.  The commission shall have the following functions and
responsibilities in its capacity as the statewide postsecondary
education planning and coordinating agency and adviser to the
Legislature and the Governor:
   (a) It shall require the governing boards of the segments of
public postsecondary education to develop and submit to the
commission institutional and systemwide long-range plans in a form
determined by the commission after consultation with the segments.
   (b) It shall prepare a state plan for postsecondary education that
shall integrate the planning efforts of the public segments with
other pertinent plans.  The commission shall seek to resolve
conflicts or inconsistencies among segmental plans in consultation
with the segments.  If these consultations are unsuccessful, the
commission shall report the unresolved issues to the Legislature with
recommendations for resolution.  In developing the plan, the
commission shall consider at least the following factors:
   (1) The need for, and location of, new facilities.
   (2) The range and kinds of programs appropriate to each
institution or system.
   (3) The budgetary priorities of the institutions and systems of
postsecondary education.
   (4) The impact of various types and levels of student charges on
students and on postsecondary education programs and institutions.
   (5) The appropriate levels of state-funded student financial aid.

   (6) The access and admission of students to postsecondary
education.
   (7) The educational programs and resources of independent and
private postsecondary institutions.
   (8) The provisions of this division differentiating the functions
of the public systems of higher education.
   (c) It shall update the plan periodically, as appropriate.
   (d) It shall participate in appropriate stages of the executive
and the legislative budget processes as requested by the executive
and the legislative branches, and shall advise the executive and the
legislative branches as to whether segmental programmatic budgetary
requests are compatible with the state plan.  It is not intended that
the commission hold independent budget hearings.
   (e) It shall advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the
need for, and location of, new institutions and campuses of public
higher education.
   (f) It shall review proposals by the public segments for new
programs, the priorities that guide them, the degree of coordination
with nearby public, independent, and private postsecondary
educational institutions, and shall make recommendations regarding
those proposals to the Legislature and the Governor.
   (g) In consultation with the public segments, it shall establish a
schedule for segmental review of selected educational programs,
evaluate the program approval, review, and disestablishment processes
of the segments, and report its findings and recommendations to the
Legislature and the Governor.
   (h) It shall serve as a stimulus to the segments and institutions
of postsecondary education by projecting and identifying societal and
educational needs and encouraging adaptability to change.
   (i) It shall periodically collect or conduct, or both collect and
conduct, studies of projected manpower supply and demand, in
cooperation with appropriate state agencies, and disseminate the
results of those studies to institutions of postsecondary education
and to the public in order to improve the information base upon which
student choices are made.
   (j) It shall periodically review and make recommendations
concerning the need for, and availability of, postsecondary programs
for adult and continuing education.
   (k) It shall develop criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of
all aspects of postsecondary education.
   (l) It shall maintain and update annually an inventory of all
off-campus programs and facilities for education, research, and
community services operated by public and independent institutions of
postsecondary education.
   (m) (1) It shall act as a clearinghouse for postsecondary
education information and as a primary source of information for the
Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies.  It shall develop and
maintain a comprehensive data base that does all of the following:
   (A) Ensures comparability of data from diverse sources.
   (B) Supports longitudinal studies of individual students as they
progress through the state's postsecondary educational institutions,
based upon the commission's existing student data base through the
use of a unique student identifier.
   (C) Is compatible with the California School Information System
and the student information systems developed and maintained by the
public segments of higher education, as appropriate.
   (D) Provides Internet access to data, as appropriate, to the
sectors of higher education.
   (E) Provides each of the educational segments access to the data
made available to the commission for the purposes of the data base,
in order to support, most efficiently and effectively, statewide,
segmental, and individual campus educational research information
needs.
   (2) The commission, in implementing paragraph (1), shall comply
with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
(20 U.S.C. Sec.  1232g) relating to the disclosure of personally
identifiable information concerning students.
   (3) The commission shall not make available any personally
identifiable information received from a postsecondary educational
institution concerning students for any regulatory purpose unless the
institution has authorized the commission to provide that
information on behalf of the institution.
   (4) The commission shall provide 30-day notification to the
chairpersons of the appropriate legislative policy and budget
committees of the Legislature, to the Director of Finance, and to the
Governor prior to making any significant changes to the student
information contained in the data base.
   (n) It shall establish criteria for state support of new and
existing programs, in consultation with the public segments, the
Department of Finance, and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
   (o) It shall comply with the appropriate provisions of the federal
Education Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-318), as specified in Section
67000.
   (p) It shall consider the relationship among academic education
and vocational education and job training programs, and shall
actively consult with representatives of public and private
education.
   (q) It shall review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools
for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary
education and shall make recommendations to the Legislature, the
Governor, and institutions of postsecondary education.
   (r) It shall report periodically to the Legislature and the
Governor regarding the financial conditions of independent
institutions, their enrollment and application figures, the number of
student spaces available, and the respective cost of utilizing those
spaces as compared to providing additional public spaces.  The
reports shall include recommendations concerning state policies and
programs having a significant impact on independent institutions.
   (s) Upon request of the Legislature or the Governor, it shall
submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report on all matters so
requested that are compatible with its role as the statewide
postsecondary education planning and coordinating agency.  Upon
request of individual Members of the Legislature or personnel in the
executive branch, the commission shall submit information or a report
on any matter to the extent that sufficient resources are available.
  From time to time, it also may submit to the Legislature and the
Governor a report that contains recommendations as to necessary or
desirable changes, if any, in the functions, policies, and programs
of the several segments of public, independent, and private
postsecondary education.
   (t) It may undertake other functions and responsibilities that are
compatible with its role as the statewide postsecondary education
planning and coordinating agency.
  SEC. 3.  The sum of four hundred twenty-four thousand dollars
($424,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the
California Postsecondary Education Commission for purposes of the
development and maintenance of a comprehensive data base, as set
forth in subdivision (m) of Section 66903 of the Education Code.  The
expenditure of these funds shall be contingent upon review and
approval of a feasibility study report by the Department of
Information Technology and the Department of Finance.
